On Friday, August 23, for the second year in a row, Nor Cal Combat will headline the Butte County Fair in front of what should be a sell-out crowd. The event will be the seventh chapter of Northern California's premiere Mixed Martial Arts event put on by now-veteran promoters John Orsua and Brannon Byrne.
NCC 7 will feature several local fighters, including Johnny Terry, Joe Ruggirello, Deniko and Dakota Sisk, Kevin Ford, and Thomas Graham.
Cody Walsh, who was crowned NCC Flyweight Champion at Nor Cal Combat V, was scheduled to defend his title against the local Terry; however Walsh recently had to vacate his title after sustaining an injury. Now, Terry will compete against Jesse Davis to see who will be crowned the new Nor Cal Combat Flyweight Champion. Terry has more than earned his shot to compete for the Flyweight crown. At NCC 6, he dominated his opponent, Travis Whitley, until having to be pulled from Whitley after 40 seconds into the second round.
Another local favorite, Joe Ruggirello (3-1) also put on quite the show at NCC 6, with a second round TKO over Cory Carrino in the Bantamweight division. Ruggirello will fight Nico Guerreiro Lozada (1-0).
Team Byrne's Featherweight Deniko Sisk (1-1) will take on Cameron Wright (1-4), while Dakota Sisk will compete against NCC-vet Idris Wasi (3-5-2) at the Middleweight division. Also from Team Byrne, Thomas Graham (2-1) is scheduled for a Lightweight match-up against David Garcia (2-2) of Team KO, and Gridley's Kevin Ford (0-1) will fight Daniel Quiroz at the Middleweight division.
Nor Cal Combat 7 will also feature Gabriel Sies (0-0) vs. Tyler Tafoya-Holbrook (1-0) at Bantamweight; Garrett Martin (0-0) vs. Brandon Meline (0-0), Melvin Washington (1-0) vs. Erick Sanchez-Gomez (1-0) in Lightweight duels; Welterweight matches of Casey Rubinoff (0-0) vs. Luis Tiznado (1-0), Robert Snow (0-0) vs. Paul Robles (1-2); and Middleweight bouts of Kelly Cheshire (1-0) vs. Alex Thill (0-0), Chris Marinelli (0-0) vs. Wayne Omori (0-0), and Robert Payne (3-1) vs. Sean Nelson (3-3).
Two fighters crowned at the sixth showing of Nor Cal Combat, fought earlier in the month. Jason Powell and Edgar Loza both won their matches at different events by unanimous decision.
At NCC 6, after knocking down opponent Jarred Allen just seconds into the first round, Loza allowed his opponent to come to his feet; however only briefly. Loza again landed a crushing right hook to the face of Allen, sending him to the ground once more and making him the first NCC featherweight champion. Also at NCC 6, Jason “The Gentleman” Powell was also crowned NCC lightweight champ after landing a kick to the head of Cameron Wright 50 seconds into the second round of the NCC lightweight title match. Both Loza and Powell won by TKO.
With six different bouts feature Gridley's own modern-day gladiators, this is definitely an event you do not want to miss! Come support our own, and buy your tickets today! They'll be gone quick!
The gates for Nor Cal Combat 7 open at 5:30 pm, with the action beginning at 6:30 pm. General admission tickets are available for $35 for the event, and can be purchased at Gridley Fitness or through the Butte County Fair Box Office.